Tunisia by car: beaches, Roman cities and the Sahara in one road trip

Why Tunisia, and why by car

Most people know Tunisia for its beach hotels. That's a shame, because in one week you can swim in the Mediterranean, walk through a Roman city, sleep in a cave house and wake up in the Sahara. The country is small, the roads are good and the landscapes change every few hours.

The best way to see it is behind the wheel. Fuel costs less than half the European price, the motorway runs from Tunis down to Sfax and Gabès, and with your own car you can reach Dougga at sunrise before the tour buses, stop at a Roman bridge nobody signposted and still be in the desert by the end of the week.

Tunis, Carthage & Sidi Bou Said

Start in the capital. The Tunis medina is a UNESCO maze of souks, mosques and old palaces, and the Bardo Museum holds one of the biggest collections of Roman mosaics in the world.

Take the TGM train out along the bay to the ruins of Carthage, then up to Sidi Bou Said, the blue-and-white village on the cliff above the sea.

• Tunis medina

  Get lost in the souks, then climb to a rooftop café for the view over the minarets.

• Carthage

  The Antonine Baths by the sea, the Punic ports and the Byrsa Hill.

• Sidi Bou Said

  Café des Délices for the view, a bambalouni doughnut on the main street, sunset on the cliffs.

Tip: Come to Sidi Bou Said early or late in the day to avoid the coach groups, and leave the car below the village.

The wild north: Bizerte to Tabarka & Ain Draham

The north coast is Tunisia's greenest corner, and most visitors never see it. From Bizerte, drive past the fishing lagoon of Ghar El Melh and the beaches of Rafraf and Sidi Ali El Mekki, then along wild Cap Serrat to Tabarka and its rock needles.

Just inland, Ain Draham sits in a cork-oak forest in the Kroumirie mountains: cool air, hiking trails and most of the country's waterfalls.

Tip: Spring is the best time for the north: everything is green and the waterfalls are full.

Roman cities and Jugurtha's Table

Tunisia was Rome's breadbasket, and it shows. Dougga is the best-preserved Roman town in Africa, on a hillside above olive groves. Bulla Regia has villas built underground to escape the heat, with their mosaics still in place. Further south, the amphitheatre of El Jem is one of the largest the Romans ever built.

Near Le Kef, Jugurtha's Table is a huge flat-topped mountain with a stairway cut into the rock. Camp on the plateau and watch the sunrise over the plains — it's one of my favourite nights in the country.

Beaches: Cap Bon, El Haouaria & the Sahel

For beaches, head to Cap Bon. Kelibia and El Mansourah have white sand and clear water, Kerkouane is a Punic town right by the sea, and at the tip of the cape El Haouaria has cliffs, Roman quarries cut into the rock and a view across to Zembra island.

Further south, the Sahel coast mixes beaches and history: the ribats of Sousse and Monastir, and Mahdia, a quiet old town on a peninsula with a fine sand beach below it. From Sfax, take the ferry to the Kerkennah Islands, where fishermen still use palm-frond traps.

• Kelibia & El Mansourah

  Some of the clearest water in the country, with the Byzantine fort above the port.

• El Haouaria

  The Ras Adar hike, the Ghar El Kebir quarries and sunset over Zembra.

• Mahdia

  A calm medina, the old fishing port and a long beach right below the town.

The Sahara, the oases & the ksour

The south is why many people come. Tozeur is the gateway to the mountain oases of Chebika, Tamerza and Mides, with palm-filled canyons and a waterfall in the desert. Drive across the salt lake of Chott el Jerid to Douz, then spend a night in a desert camp.

Ksar Ghilane has a hot spring at the edge of the dunes. Matmata has the famous underground cave houses, and around Tataouine the fortified granary villages called ksour sit on the hilltops.

Tip: Leave the rental car in Douz for the desert tracks. Ksar Ghilane and the dunes are 4x4 territory — book a local driver who knows the sand.

Djerba: the island at the end of the road

Finish on Djerba: whitewashed mosques, the El Ghriba synagogue, the street art of Djerbahood in Erriadh, pottery villages and long beaches on the east coast. It also has an airport, so it's the perfect place to fly out.

Renting a car & driving

Renting is easy at Tunis-Carthage airport, where international brands and local agencies have desks. A small car starts around €29 – 50 a day, cheaper on long rentals and in winter.

• Documents

  Your passport, your national licence and an International Driving Permit. Many agencies ask for it.

• One-way rentals

  Pick up in Tunis and drop off in Djerba or Tozeur for an extra fee. It saves the long drive back north.

• Rules

  Speed limits are 50, 90 and 110 km/h. Expect checkpoints: slow down and wait to be waved through.

• Fuel

  Prices are set by the state. Fill up whenever you're below half in the south.

• Don't

  Drive on rural roads at night, drive into a medina or take a normal car onto desert tracks.

A two-week route that works

This is the shape of the loop I recommend for a first trip. The e-book has the full day-by-day versions for one week, two weeks, three weeks and a month, with where to sleep.

• Days 1 – 3 · Tunis, Carthage & Sidi Bou Said

  The medina, the Bardo, the ruins and the blue village.

• Days 4 – 5 · Dougga & Cap Bon

  The Roman town, then the beaches of Kelibia and El Haouaria.

• Days 6 – 7 · Sousse, El Jem & Kairouan

  The ribat, the amphitheatre and the Great Mosque.

• Days 8 – 10 · Tozeur, the oases & Douz

  Mountain oases, the salt lake and a night in the desert.

• Days 11 – 12 · Matmata & Tataouine

  Cave houses and hilltop ksour.

• Days 13 – 14 · Djerba

  Djerbahood, the beaches, and fly out.

Practical tips before you go

A few things that make a big difference on the ground:

• Money

  The dinar can't be taken out of the country. Pay cash in most places and use ATMs in towns.

• SIM card

  Buy an Ooredoo, Orange or Tunisie Telecom SIM at the airport. Coverage is good almost everywhere.

• Seasons

  Summer is hot inland and busy on the coast. Check the Ramadan dates: days are quiet, evenings are lively.

• Words to know

  Aslema (hello), 'Aychek (thank you), Bqaddech? (how much?).

• Respect

  Dress modestly away from the beach, and ask before photographing people.